Title: Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
Author: Barbara Park

Illustrator: Denise Brunkus

Publication Information: New York: Random House, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-82642-4

Genre: Formula Fiction/Humor
Length: 69 pages / 10 chapters
Estimated age level: 6 and up

Summary: This is the first book in the Junie B. Jones series. In this book Junie B. gets ready to start kindergarten and really doesn’t want to ride the bus. She says that it’s scary, stupid and smelly. Then, after the first day of school she decides that she is going to hide to avoid getting on the bus. Junie then goes on an adventure around the school after she is the only one left in the building. Finally she comes out and her mother tells her never to hide when it’s time to leave ever again.

Evaluation: This is a really good book for early readers. The chapters are short and the writing is still rather large. There are also pictures occasionally throughout the book to help the young reader imagine what is happening. However, the words are not dependent on the pictures, which makes this a chapter book rather than a picture book. I loved Junie B. Jones books when I was younger because they seemed relatable and they were always interesting. The stories were relatable because they are about a young girl beginning her school career and that was exactly where I was when I started reading them. They are also appealing to children because they are extremely funny and theres added suspense of what kind of trouble Junie B. will get in this time. Now that I am older and reading them I realize that they have a lot of hidden meaning or morals so to speak in the story. This book taught the reader how important it is not to hide in the school after the days over. Also, this book would be good for a child going into kindergarten and is scared of riding the bus, because in the end Junie figures out that the bus isn’t all that bad.